31 December 2009

happiness is homefood


grits.bacon.biscuits
trademarks of the south. with the basic combination it is obvious that the south is more complicated than people would like to think. this dish best describes where i come from and my ancestry.
biscuits: definitely a British concept ( although we eat hoecakes in my family more, hoecakes are of Creek & Choctaw origin )
grits: well hominy or grits are just big sofkee
bacon: made from the leftover pieces of the hog that were given to slaves, which were fried, boiled, pickled & salt cured.

it's funny that MOST dishes that are considered soul food came from southeastern native dishes consisting of corn, beans, squash. the eating of the greens of root vegetables though... is definitely african. talking my mixed blood.sisterwitch.cousinkin the other day and she said, mentioned that we both like turnips and ground food because of it. apparently lakota (sioux) folks use the turnip for everything, as a chew toy for toddlers, balls for play and even make a turnip flour.... wow i can't wait to eat whatever dangerine conjures up with turnips.

29 December 2009

last post of 2009


                       .....blah....

18 December 2009

Digging Deep

I have been reading a paper written by Zora Neale Hurston, a literary giant of all that is wild and strange concerning blackfolk, entitled Hoodoo in America and it's got me whirling. Since much of here information was compiled in New Orleans ( although there are sections on the Bahamas & Florida) there some many little pieces of information just beg for questioning. For instance, there is a passage entitled Hoodoo Beliefs which states that if you go to  
" St. Roque church down at Raquet Green, where all the hoodoo dances used to be held, is a good place to burn candles for what you want. But you must walk down and back."

Of course I read it and wondered where this church used to be. Then all this info flooded my brain... Like the fact that Christian Churches almost always took sacred indigenous sites to build their own holy temples upon. Power places in the Southeast US almost always were at one time Native ceremonial grounds or sites.
For instance, Congo Square (renamed Beauregard Square for some dumb reason) in New Orleans, was the site of many voodoo ritual and social dances. It was also the Houma people's ceremonial stomp and stickball grounds.
So, I'm remembering all this and then I run across this in New Orleans as it was: Episodes of Louisiana life by Henry C. Castellanos 











                     Postcard of St. Roch Cemetery Entrance w/ Chapel in the Background, New Orleans, c.1910


St. Roch Cemetery Entrance, present

What I can't make sense of is the use of the word bamboula? Bamboula is a musical style ( and also a drum of kinds ) that was imported into the Americas by slaves from the Caribbean. It is a dance, a style and an instrument so closely linked to the African Diaspora. Why is it ( incorrectly, i feel ) in this documentation of a Ishtaboli ( choctaw stickball ) game? The ball itself is called towa and I can find nothing so far to link the word bamboula any kind of game.

Subsequently, I have found interesting facts that link the pre-game ceremonies of Ishtaboli that were very ritualistic to the "hoodoo dances" on the Square. There was lots of conjuring and dancing by the medicine people of the Indian towns a the games.

Congo Square was used for this purpose and for certain both Native people and African people inhabited the Square at the same time. With Sunday's off for all slaves ( African, Native, Creole or White ) within the City of New Orleans anybody was bound to be in Congo Square during the festivities. I am now intrigued by this and need to find out more information.

Here's a funny thing:

15 December 2009

quick fast mojo




13 December 2009

Colored People's Directory circa 1905

This is a treasure for folks with ties to Chicago who are interested in genealogy. It's awesome viewing! My favorite is Miss Lutie Jackson. If she ain't a Hoodoo Lady she sure promotes like one.



Courtesy of Internet Archive

11 December 2009

Juju Gallerie

Welcome to our Gallerie of Conjurecraft

medicine bag for suz

ummm, from pieces and parts to mojo in 1 hr, 38mins.

08 December 2009

Sharing the craft

I will be sharing the craft with some awesome sistren I met with last week in The Village Bottoms Cultural District in West Oakland. This is stuff I've been dreaming of! Celebrating the love of the cultural phenomenon that juju is. Omg, maybe juju is moving west.

........................................................................
thursday, dec. 10, 2009 | w. oakland, california usa
Sacred Wayz & Means Workshop|
Thurs: 7p-9p| Village Bottoms Juju Shop
Soirée - Perfumes and Prosperity | offering: $5-$7 sliding scale


An intimate convening and working exchange of medicines, potions, customs [skilled, legacy & invoked] ole’ & neo manifestations of traditional and cultural ingredients for healing, transformation and positive action. The evening to focus upon the Juju workings of Perfumes, and the working principles in motion of Abundance and Prosperity...

The Juju Shop: 1193 Pine Street
[btwn 11th & 12th streets on Pine]
The Village Bottoms Cultural District
West Oakland, CA  USA


contact: khayastar@gmail.com
_______________
Congo SQ West Kinship Society | Oakland, CA
"... to build bridges, restore networks & bind cultural ties."
Programs of Service, Campaigns, Arts & Culture & Foundation
phone: 510-464-3025  email: congosqwest@gmail.com

07 December 2009

My own bottle spells


( check'em out the bottle spells on etsy)

A common practice among Southern rootworkers is the use of bottle spells. Incantations, spells, notes and sometimes prayers are written on a piece of paper, which is folded numerous times and then placed into a bottle containing spell matter. This spell matter can be anything that is associated with the spell such as, bay leaf from prosperity, roses for love or nails for protection and so on. The bottle is sealed and then thrown into a body of water, buried or hung from a tree. This casts your spell out into the world giving it power.


Need some juju for Prosperity? Got some of that too.


04 December 2009

Rush,Rush

(pictured Junkanoo, New Year's Eve 2007)

Junkanoo is a celebration/carnival/extravaganza held in the Bahamas, Miami & other parts of the West Indies during the christmas holiday season. On Boxing Day and New Year's Day the most highly anticipated showcase of this festival occurs in New Providence,Bahamas. The elements of Junkanoo are similar to other pre-Lent celebrations such as carnival ( Trindad & Brazil ) as well as Mardi Gras ( New Orleans ) yet there are many distinctions. Personally, I believe that creating the works ( costumes, et al ) for Junkanoo are less evasive and more creative because the materials used. The good and bad thing about Junkanoo is that because the costumes are made from paper ( 90% paper goods ) they are DELICATE and if it rains they push back the starting time from 1:00am to whenever it stops raining. In 2007, me, my husband, my parents sat on Bay St, waiting for the parade to start which began at around 3:30am...
The musical element of Junkanoo I consider very "New World". The use of goat-skin drums, blowing conch shells, brass "marching band" instruments and rushing  is something that relates it to New Orleans' second line. Everybody loves to rush the band, and the cops are forever yelling at folks. One year at Junkanoo my cousin, who is a founder of One Family, saw me in the crowd, motioned me to come out and this cop says to me when he saw me move ( i was already out there anyway) " You betta not rush "

Read more about Junkanoo here.

01 December 2009

Southern Home








and then there's...